"Oh, that's your game, is it!" shouted the Sharper. "You'll fight me for that." "Fight you? When and where you like," replied +Tom+. There was a general cheering and throwing up of hats. "Hooray! There's going to be a fight between the Sharper and +Tom Brown & Co.+," shouted the Fourth Form. They hadn't had such good news for a long time. * * * * * The whole School was there, and the third round had been fought. Betting had been fast and furious, and there had been several attempts made by the supporters of both champions to break the ring and put an end to the contest when the fortunes of the day seemed to be going against their own special favourite. But now a curious thing happened. After a little preliminary sparring in the fourth round, +Tom Brown & Co.+, suddenly dropping on one knee, went to the ground. In a few seconds the surprising news was known that he had given in. The sponge was thrown up, and the Sharper declared the victor. +Tom+ was quickly surrounded by his friends, and led off the field. +Flopper+ ran up to him. "I'm so sorry, +Tom+," he said, "that you should have fought in my quarrel, and have got licked." There was a twinkle in +Tom's+ eye. "My dear fellow," he replied. "Don't imagine I wouldn't have thrashed him; but business is business, and I got a good price for not doing so. Didn't you twig that _I sold the fight_?" * * * * * That night +Tom Brown & Co.+ wrote home an enthusiastic account of his day's doings to his parents. The next morning, +Tom Brown+, Senior, referring to the letter with a glow of pride on his commercial face, remarked to his better-half that the boy's training seemed perfect, and that he was destined to turn out remarkably well. "I can't tell you," he added, "how I long to see that boy loose upon the Stock Exchange. He will be a credit to the family." * * * * * A book has been recently published entitled _The Amateur's Guide to Architecture_, by +Sophie Beale+. Sophie shows us how a house should be Beale't. But just imagine an Amateur Architect!! * * * The complaint of the Charity Organisation Society, slightly varied from +Shakspeare+, is that "The quality of Mercy is not _trained_." * * * * * SHOWS VIEWS. _By Victor Who-goes-Everywhere_.